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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A trip to Karyn's on Green inspired these "crab" cakes. Karyn's is an upscale vegetarian resturaunt tucked away in the Greektown area of Chicago. Flanked by tzakki slinging restaurants, this sleek eatery's motto is " making vegan sexy". The Vegan crab cakes at Karyn's mimics the texture and taste in such an unbelievable way I thought something fishy was going on. The bubbly waitress reassured me that the decadent crab cakes were indeed vegan. Taking a cue from Reverend Brown in Coming to America, I sopped them up with warm vegan buttered biscuits. After doing a little research I found that you can buy veggie crab meat online. I also realized that it costs a lot more than I'm willing to shell out, so I've come up with a cost-effective (see: cheapo) way to make it. Saving money is both smart and sexy.

Here's what you need:

1 lb firm tofu

3 tbsp crumbled Nori Flakes

½ cup panko bread crumbs

Juice of ½ of lemon

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

1 heaping tsp of Old Bay Seasoning Mix

Here's what you gotta do:

1) Preheat oven to broil

2) In a large bowl crumble tofu by hand . Add the nori flakes and set aside for 5 min.

4) Shape the mixture into 2 inch patties and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

5) Broil for 5 minutes, use a spatula to gently turn the patties over and broil the other side for about 3 minutes. ( as with real crab cakes these patties will hold lightly together so gentle spatula work is key)

6) Let cool for 1 minute before serving.

* Try it with sauce of melted veggie butter , lemon and garlic or with your favorite hot-sauce.

* For crab cake sandwiches, make the patties larger and serve with dijon mustard and toasted bread.